Country Guide

This small country lies entirely surrounded by the Republic of South Africa. It is about as large as Wales or Israel and lies in the eastern part of the High Veld between the Orange Free State and KwaZulu-Natal. Most of the country is above 1,800 m/6,000 ft and includes the highest land in southern Africa, which rises to 3,300 m/11,000 ft.

Lesotho's weather and climate are similar to the high veld of South Africa, but temperatures are significantly lower at higher levels and snow is quite frequent in winter. At lower elevations the winters are dry and mild but with frequent cold nights. Summers are warm with more frequent rain, but temperatures are rarely excessively high.

The low humidity and large number of sunshine hours make for a pleasant and healthy climate for most of the year. The table for Bloemfontein (South Africa) is representative of the rather warmer temperatures at lower levels.